The Way of the Ninja
by Spider and the Fly
Summary: Naruto is blind, but he doesn't see that as a problem. And neither do his two best friends, Hinata and Neji Hyuuga.
1. Chapter 1

**My first Naruto fic. Hmm. :D I really like this fandom! XD So excited!**

Naruto had been a baby when they realized. Why he didn't reach for surrounding objects when he fell. Sure, he flailed his arms around, and sometimes got lucky, but usually just fell ("plop") onto the floor. Why he didn't look into your eyes when you spoke. They'd thought that was just baby disrespect, but it escalated into hands waved in front of his face and frantic eye-searching.

Naruto was an adorable baby, for all that he ignored body language (probably because he couldn't _see_ it) and physical cues. His parents weren't there, having died sealing the Kyuubi inside their newborn, but Tsunade and Shizune raised him to the best of their ability. Was it any wonder he grew into a gambling, paper-pushing prankster? (No, not really.)

The surprise came one evening at the dinner table when Naruto looked Tsunade right in the eyes one night and said, "Granny, the fox says he _likes_ me. He's been helping me _see_, Granny."

Well, it's understandable how that freaked Tsunade out, right? Her 5-year-old ward, despised by the entire city, talking in his head to the crazy demon fox that threatened to destroy the city? Immediately under study.

Everyone concluded that the story the fox told, where he hadn't intended on attacking anyone's city until Sharingan McGee told him to (he added a few please's, too), and he actually liked the boy, unlike half the interviewers, was true, and Tsunade was appeased. However, she requested she be told if Kyuubi wanted or needed anything, such as world domination or cookies. These thoughts were to be brought to her immediately, understand?

He did.

They'd been keeping him on the Hokage's property and training him in ninjutsu (just in case), so they'd pretty much anticipated his first request. To go on walks outside the compound. They agreed, pretty much because he was 7 and needed to go outside and see others his age. They decided he could go to the Ninjutsu Academy, but he'd be trailed by ANBU (who adored him, he was always so cute and charming) to the Academy and back. He agreed to the conditions with enthusiasm.

The very next day, he set off. (He greeted Boar and Frog, it was their turn today.) He stopped by the front door, nervously chewing his bottom lip (_a bad habit and a tic that would give his next move away_, he reminded himself, _so stop it_) before stepping inside.

He was greeted by a wave of childish stares, most of which belonged to children. They were centered around a raven-haired boy in the middle row (like petals on a flower) who glared down at him with a vengeance.

"This is Uzumaki Naruto, your new classmate. He's- well, just be careful." The teacher sounded nervous; no doubt he'd been the receiving agent on the phone call Granny had made last night. Naruto didn't bother telling him he could see chakra just fine; it was everything else that had problems coming into focus. He could see inanimate objects as well, but the light of the chakra streams inside living bodies distracted him from the physical features of the actual person. It wasn't too bad, but if you tried quizzing him on hair color, or facial features, he'd be stumped. It bothered him, and he'd resolved to work on it. He could see eyes, though, and mouths when the person talked, but no noses or fingernails. Not even teeth.

"H-hello, N-naruto-kun!" A shy girl smiled at him as he sat next to her. "I'm Hinata, a-and t-this is N-neji." She gestured next to her at a grumpy boy who turned to stare at him. Whatever he found made him curious, and he asked, "What's wrong with your eyes? You've got way too much chakra centered on them. Are you sick?" He spoke suspiciously, and Naruto glanced around to make sure no one had heard but Hinata, sandwiched between them as she was.

"No." Naruto whispered quietly, pretending to listen to the teacher's (Iruka-sensei's) lesson. "I'm blind."

Neji thought on this for a moment, noting his body language and structure, and how Hinata stared at him. "Alright," he decided, "you can stay."

Naruto grinned.

**Author's note:**

**Naruto can see chakra streams, but they distract him from facial features unless they can move (i.e. mouth, eyes, hair, eyebrows, ectr.). Thus he can't see the nose, as generally noses don't move (unless you're Kiba Inuzuka). It's loosely based on the Hyuuga's Byakugan.**

**Also, Hinata and Neji actually like each other here. Neji's actually a little bit overprotective, so in my strange, candy-filled mind, him telling Naruto he could stay is a big thing. **

**Tsunade lives in the Hokage's compound, but is not the Hokage. She only lives there for Naruto, and also because she's Hiruzen's granddaughter. But even then, only for Naruto.**

**If there are any questions, please put them in a comment/review at the bottom. **

**Lastly, I urge everyone here to go listen to Imagine Dragons' "Monster" with Naruto in mind. Or maybe Kyuubi. It's open to interpretation.**

**:D**

**TBC-**


	2. Chapter 2

It had been considerably easier to hide his lack of eyesight from the rest of his classmates than it had been with the Hyuugas. They had seen it right away, whereas everyone else remained blissfully ignorant. And while the boy in the middle of the chakra flower formation had taken to staring at him in class instead of focusing on Iruka-sensei's lesson, he tried not to worry about it. The boy couldn't know, could he? He had the look of the Uchiha, but even the Sharingan couldn't look at chakra like the Byakugan. He was safe.

And the ANBU guards reassured him. Though he was perfectly capable of caring for himself, he appreciated the thought. And maybe he'd need some help if anyone ever threatened him again. People did that a lot, it seemed. He couldn't even think of a reason why. Kurama was sealed wasn't he? And anyways, he was nice. He'd only attacked Konoha because of a Uchiha, but nobody bullied the Uchiha in Naruto's class, Sasuke. He was gloomy and unsociable, and he made Naruto nervous when the class played outside. He'd come over by where Naruto, Hinata, and Neji were sitting and talking (they rarely played; Hinata was weak and Neji didn't want to risk her getting hurt) and simply watch Naruto the whole time, like he was studying some strange specimen in a lab. The ANBU had noticed as well.

They told him they'd be on the watch for any suspicious behavior and that they'd already informed Tsunade of these strange actions.

Naruto didn't start to really worry until a certain thing happened.


	3. Chapter 3

Sasuke was intrigued. The blonde wasn't bothered by school politics (popularity fights, strength-showing, or just plain bullying), and stayed close to the stutterer and her shadow. It was strange: he hadn't shown even a bit of interest in Sasuke, not even at the beginning. Was he someone super inportant? Or just ignorant?

He resolved to find out.

"Momma, who's the blonde boy that hangs around the Hyuugas?" He asked at dinner. "He's strange."

She paled and stammered and just generally seemed upset by the questions, so he stopped asking. But he didn't stop wondering.

He listened in at the old people's social circle and found no mention of the boy. The children at school only talked about how odd he was, that even /Sasuke/ was curious.

Sasuke decided to follow him home and see where he lived. Before he'd even begun, he was stopped by two ANBU.

"Young Uchiha, you should go home."

He could see Naruto staring curiously at him from farther along the path. With a snort, he turned and began slouching home, only to be cuffed around the head and scolded by his mother, who'd been told of his actions by the ANBU.


End file.
